LAiV Harmony DAC- A leap of faith

Darrel

Darrel

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Joined
Nov 1, 2018
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436
Location
Auburn, Washington USA
My plan was to get a new DAC this year. I've been using the internal DAC in the Gryphon and HiFi Rose 150b. I find the Gryphon is more musical and less fatiguing than the Rose. But, just thought it was time to try something new. A few weeks ago I started seeing Youtube videos on the LAiV Harmony DAC. And for the price it looks to be a very interesting and affordable DAC. So, I place a order for the black DAC yesterday. This is a new Singapore audio company and its first product. But, reviews are very positive. So, I thought I'd give it a try.

Harmony DAC | Laiv

This is just one of the review videos I've watched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oe_gh6JX5Q&t=866s
 
When I purchased the Harmony DAC from LAiV my order status stated the ship date would be early June of this year. I received a email yesterday that "Unfortunately, the recent conflict in the Red Sea region has significantly disrupted the delivery of out components, causing unforeseen delays in out production schedule". Looks like the end of June is the new ship timeframe. Not a big deal to me.
 
Looks like the shipping issues for LAiV have been resolved. I got a email this morning that the Harmony DAC has shipped via FedEx.

I've been doing some research on I2S connection options. This is pretty new to me. So, I'll go cheap first and see how things work out. I also have a pure glass optic cable as well as a few pretty good Cardas power and coaxial cables to play with.
 
Darrel said:
I've been doing some research on I2S connection options. This is pretty new to me. .
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I *BELIEVE* and may be wrong, that I2S connections are not universal in how they are wired and you need to make sure you have gear/cables that are wired the same way.

I think I read that in regards to my AQUA that it's I2S does not necessarily automatically work with any other I2S piece of gear.
 
The Harmony DAC has eight modes to choose from using the remote or units control. My HiFi Rose uses two I2S output options. And I've seen some diy RJ45 to HDMI connections also. This connection option is new to me and I figure I have about a week to dig into this before I receive the unit.
 
I have to give praise to LAiV for their shipping speed.

LAiV Harmony DAC.jpg

LAiV Harmony DAC 2.jpg

It was quite a surprise to see FedEX showed up around 9:11 am this morning with my new Harmony DAC from LAiV. LAiV covers shipping, tariff and any taxes for their items. And once they have their product ordered and any supply issues resolved they get their product to customers quicker than anyone I have ever dealt with. I'm impressed to say the least.
 
Darrel said:
I have to give praise to LAiV for their shipping speed.

View attachment 33635

View attachment 33636

It was quite a surprise to see FedEX showed up around 9:11 am this morning with my new Harmony DAC from LAiV. LAiV covers shipping, tariff and any taxes for their items. And once they have their product ordered and any supply issues resolved they get their product to customers quicker than anyone I have ever dealt with. I'm impressed to say the least.
Click to expand...

Congrats on the new LAiV DAC. Once you get it set up and some hours on it, please post your impressions. It's been getting rave reviews everywhere.
 
So far, I'd say less equals more. This is a pretty straight forward DAC. No volume gain like a preamp. I'm running Cardas Clear XLR to the Gryphon. So, the Gryphon now just accepts that for playback. I'm just using the optical out from my Samsung one box to the Harmony and just the USB from the Rose also. The USB is a Shinyada Alpha and has served me well up to now for Roon. My first impressions of the Harmony with Qobuz and Tidal using Roon is that the reviewers are on to something. The soundstage has fallen farther back of the S3s and instruments placement is more compact to the area of their placement on recordings. It's still early. But, I'm liking what I hear so far.
 
1 stereo room.jpg

I've been playing the Harmony DAC throughout this past weekend trying the different connection options available with the Harmony. I haven't been able to get any I2s connection to work between the Harmony and the Rose 150d. I contacted LAiV to see what their thoughts or if they knew of a cable that would allow me to listen with that input. So far it looks like I will have to wait for a Harmony streamer to be released. I did call BlueJeans Cable Monday and talked to Jeff about if they have any experience with this connection option. He was very informative and has read up on the spec/connection and usage of I2s. To sum it up...don't waist you time on a cable that has not been standardized. It does have some audio improvements. He didn't think building a cable that may or may not work even though the wiring matched output of the Rose or the input of the Harmony was worth doing at this time. So, I move on with what I have which is a toslink from the Samsung one box and the Shunyata USB from the Rose.

The Harmony has three spikes on the bottom that sit on brass colored pucks which elevates the unit. I knew I would be moving it around to hook and unhook different connections. So, I reach into my box of Balck Diamond Racing graphite pieces and found three of their pucks. These made sliding the Harmony a breeze and I will just leave them under the Harmony. So, now that I have my connection finalized, I can spend my time doing what I should be doing and getting down to listening.

After spending most all of the weekend playing through my standard playlists and favorite albums, one thought keep coming back to me. "If I were to spend $10k-$20k or more on a DAC and said that it has completely elevated my system". Someone might think...well I sure hope so! I can honestly say that about the $2700 Harmony DAC. The realistic tonal quality of instruments like snare drum, trumpets, piano, guitar etc. is a huge leap above the Rose or the internal DAC of the Gryphon. Music is so much more engaging and natural within any recording either live or studio environments. This should be on this list for anyone looking at replacing or adding a DAC. I hate the phrase "Game Changer". This just might be that kind of a DAC.
 
Thanks for the impressions. It recently got a Blue Moon award on Six Moons site and Srajan bought the review sample as his new reference.
 
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